"Topside minis and Naval Thunder" Topic

So finally, after over a year, I was able to get Naval Thunder to the board with a friend.

We played Komandorski Islands using the printed ships from Topside. While the rules say it supports the scale things were a little cramped but on the other hand shells were flying in good order by the first turns shooting step.

Destroyers and cruisers alike (poor Omaha) were flooding and on fire.

Some of the best wargaming I've done in a while.

For now, assuming I can get a little interest to stick, the plan is to move on to Panzerschiffe 1/2400. Though I might have already ordered the next scenarios ships from Topside. Which, aside from a little on the large side are top notch and a great bargain for getting your feet wet in the genre.

At the moment it looks like I'll be rounding out the Naval Thunder collection with the expansion material and an wondering if there is any consensus as to its popularity? Is it a safe investment or is there something you like more out there?

Thanks!

I love Naval Thunder and it's somewhat popular where I live. It's great to teach and play. Several people will probably chime in that you should look at General Quarters 3, though, as that is probably the most popular current Naval Miniatures Rules.

David Manley's various rules are also quite good.

In the end, Play what YOU enjoy. There is no one set of rules to rule them all.

I don't think I understand the questions. You already answered them:

Some of the best wargaming I've done in a while.

NT is pretty easy to learn and teach, plays pretty fast, and covers the main bases of 20th C. naval battles. As long as you have local players willing to play, it's hard to see why it would be a bad investment.

If you're looking for greater realism, particular game mechanics, increased detail or greater brevity, greater scope in the printed rules, huge battles in one hour or smaller battles in 12 hours, etc. there might be alternatives to discuss. It sounds to me like you have what you need, so don't waste your money looking for the "perfect" rules, just go play.

I'm one of those people who prefers the GQ3 system, but I'm not one of your local players, so I don't see how my opinion of NT matters at all.

- Ix

I like NT and think it would be a good investment for you if you are fine with the scale and mechanics. I've owned and read some rules that nobody would play unless they were really, really into naval WWII. I've run NT at cons and with younger players with no problem. We play it pretty regularly in our mix of games and it always goes over well for a weeknight game. It's easy to teach and learn so to me that makes it a good one to have because you may find non-naval players who would learn naval rules if they don't have to spend hours just figuring out how to turn a ship.

We play it with Pre-Dreadnoughts in 1/1250 scale and it works fine.